Season of the Pumpkin People is upon us

The spark of a new idea coming to fruition at Upper Canada Village has ignited a number of area partnerships between the business community and the St. Lawrence Parks Commission.

The South Dundas Chamber of Commerce is fueling the fire of Pumpkinferno by helping spread the seasonal theme throughout the community.

Last week, in anticipation of the kickoff of Pumpkinferno at Upper Canada Village, the South Dundas Chamber of Commerce launched “Season of Pumpkin People” at the Upper Canada Playhouse.

Through the Season of Pumpkin people, the organizing committee hopes to get area businesses and residents to create Pumpkin People/Scarecrow displays at their homes and businesses to create a festive harvest season atmosphere throughout South Dundas in support of the Pumpkinferno event at the village which aims to bring 20,000 visitors to the region.

The organizing committee is chaired by local artist Gene Ward.

“We would like to see people make an effort to create their own pumpkin people displays in whatever way they feel is appropriate,” said Ward. “Maybe it will be something so small it will fit in your hand, or maybe something giant. Really the purpose is to engage people in the community to get involved so that people from outside the community can take an interest in the area.”

“Also, this is a great opportunity to promote the area at a time of year which is traditionally a down time for businesses,” said Ward.

“To have Upper Canada Village include us is a big bonus for this area,” he added. “We need all the help we can get.”

South Dundas Mayor Steven Byvelds congratulated the chamber of commerce, Ward and the event team on getting involved in this partnership with Pumpkinferno. “We always look forward to forming partnerships, especially partnerships with the St. Lawrence Parks Commission,” he said. “I’m certain the community will buy into this theme.”

“This is a really great opportunity,” said South Dundas Chamber of Commerce President Chuck Barkley.

Nicole Sullivan, South Dundas economic development officer reiterated the importance of working with the SLPC in this initiative.

She spoke about the creation of the theme which was designed to build on the agricultural roots of the community and expand on the highly successful Harvest Festival theme of the 21 year event in Williamsburg. “The way Williamsburg is decorated for the harvest festival really brings that community to life,” she said.

“This is wonderful,” commented Susan Leclair, corporate marketing and devlopment officer for the St. Lawrence Parks Commission. “We are delighted to have your participation and cooperation.” Of the 20,000 visitors the commission hopes to bring to Pumpkinferno, Leclair said, “I hope they want to visit your businesses as well as ours.”

“It’s one of those events where the pictures don’t really do it justice. We have a great feeling about this event, and we hope we have a winner on our hands.”

In closing she thanked the chamber for embracing Pumpkinferno adding that they hope to build on it in the future.

Those who create a Season of Pumpkin People display, can fill out a registration form to be eligible to win random prizes. The early bird draw prizes of free admission to Pumpkinferno were won by Williamsburg Garage and Brian and Jane Cox.

Registration forms can be dropped off at Candy’s Hair Salon/River Rat Treasures in Iroquois, the South Dundas Chamber of Commerce office in Morrisburg, Williamsburg Garage in Williamsburg or H&I Country Supply in Brinston.

Related Articles

A group of community-minded people are preparing to make a scene at the Iroquois Plaza, Saturday, June 25th from 10 a.m. until noon. Organized by Reina DeJong and Nellie Leightizer, DeJong tells The Leader that […]

Far too many Canadians are being left behind and counting on food banks to get by, according to HungerCount 2014, a national study released last week by Food Banks Canada.

Food bank use increased slightly in 2014 by 1 per cent. The report shows that in a typical month, food banks in Canada now provide food and other supports to more than three quarters of a million separate individuals – 841,000 people. The report also highlights the troubling trends that contribute to the increase in household food insecurity and food bank use across the country.

“The job market is very tough right now,” said Katharine Schmidt, Executive Director of Food Banks Canada, which coordinated the national study involving more than 4,000 food programs. “The unfortunate combination of low-paying jobs, inadequate supports for the unemployed, and a lack of training opportunities for Canadians is keeping food bank use near record levels.”

Ian McKelvie, Administrator for the Dundas County Food Bank, reports that food bank use at its two locations in Morrisburg and Winchester increased by 16 per cent in 2014.

“It’s discouraging to see that the increase in the number of people using our local food banks is so much higher than what the HungerCount is reporting nation-wide” noted McKelvie. “One statistic that mirrors the study” McKelvie adds, “is that 40 per cent of those requiring assistance in our community are children.”

The Dundas County Food Bank now assists 580 people including 355 families.

“The coming holiday season is a crucial time of year for providing emergency food for people in need. We are still seeking more donations of food and extra funds to purchase other items such as milk, fresh fruit and vegetables and meat,” said McKelvie.

The HungerCount 2014 study found that:

• Each month, 90,000 Canadians are forced to ask for help from a food bank for the first time.

• 4 in 10 of those relying on this assistance are children.

• The number of single adults helped by food banks each month has doubled since 2001 – from 80,000 to 158,000.

“It has been six years since the recession sent food bank use soaring,” continued Schmidt. “It is time to stop waiting for things to improve – it is time to start acting to make real investments in policies that will reduce the need for food banks.”

The HungerCount 2014 report proposes key policy recommendations that can make significant progress in reducing the number of people who need help from food banks. These include:

– Investing in affordable housing,

– Providing more effective supports to low-income families with children, and

– Helping Canadians get the skills they need for the well-paying jobs of today.

During the May 15th South Dundas council meeting, councillor Evonne Delegarde submitted three requests from the Bluegrass Festival Committee.

The requests included the borrowing or renting of chairs as well as the use of the Iroquois Campsite showers and dumping station.

It was estimated that there would be 70 to 80 campers ‘rough camping’ at the Bluegrass Festival, which takes place June 15th to the 17th at the Iroquois Locks.

Mayor Steven Byvelds reminded council that the committee had submitted a request at budget time for $10,000 and were granted $3,000 from the township.

He also pointed out that “we had this request last year and denied it.”

Chief administrative officer Stephen McDonald pointed out that there is a grants policy and “I don’t think this group just thought of this request today. I think it was purposefully not given to staff.”

Clerk Brenda Brunt pointed out that there is no staff working on Sunday afternoons.

“I do see a line up,” said Byvelds. “I don’t like getting last minute requests. It’s not fair to council and it’s not fair to staff.”

As for the paying campers at the Iroquois Campsite, Byvelds said, “it’s not going to be an enjoyable experience for them.”

In the end, it was decided that there weren’t any chairs sufficient to the task. It was also decided that allowing the showers to be used would be too much of an inconvenience to campers at the Iroquois Campsite. The request to allow dumping, however, was approved.